Showing posts with label 30-Day Color Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 30-Day Color Challenge. Show all posts

Tuesday

Creative Confetti: Color It Up!




Hello, happy stampers! Hope your week is off to a great start! Today, as we throw up the Creative Confetti, we pay homage to a magical little challenge in card making and coloring land! If you popped on over to the blog yesterday, you saw the amazing Kathy Racoosin share a little coloring experiment with all of us! It was a part of her 30 Day Coloring Challenge! You can check out her post HERE and all the details about the challenge HERE!  Simply stated, Kathy is challenging us to make time to color, every day, even if you only have ten minutes! 

So... because we have 9 days left of the challenge, we thought we'd take it one step further and not only encourage you to color but try one image a few different ways OR just try a coloring medium you haven't dabbled in for a while! Here, my friends is your official challenge! 


HOW TO PLAY: The challenge is just as simple as it is stated! Just pick up a coloring medium that you haven't used for a while and play! No need to create a card, simply color and join along in The Daily Marker's 30 Day Coloring Challenge!

On to my creations!


For my creations today, I decided that I wanted to take one image -- I chose the little peony from Power Poppy's Soothing Sympathy stamp set -- and color it up in four different ways. I picked watercolor pencils (both on watercolor paper and card stock), chalk and Copic Markers. I also picked up some markers here but decided that the look was too similar to the watercolor pencils, so I left that little photo out.


So, after stamping my image multiple times in a variety of inks, I put on some tunes and went to town coloring! 


First came watercolor pencils scribbled directly onto the watercolor paper. The ink used was Memento Toffee Crunch. I blended with a Dover Blender Pen as I went along. 


Next came pastel chalks. This one was tricky. The chalks were so soft that I really had to get in there and blend and keep adding more and more chalk layers. It created a soft look but didn't really have a ton of dimension to it. It was a more "loose" feel. 


Next, I went back to my watercolor pencils and added the color on regular card stock. The depth of color really struck me! I then blended again with my Dove Blender Pen. 


And last, but certainly not least is my all time favorite medium -- Copic markers! I just find such joy in the easy blending of this medium and how rich in color it can be! 

So here, below, is a peek at all four next to each other with a little background color added to each image. I thought once I popped that background a bit, it did make all of the coloring (even the mediums I wasn't completely happy with) look a whole lot better. 



So, my friends, what medium will you reach for to spend a little time with The Daily Marker's 30 Day Challenge? One medium I have that I didn't use was pearlescent paint. I have some, so who knows, maybe I'll stamp this little flower up once more and give it a whirl!

As always, I can't wait to see what you come up with! Once you're done, don't forget to link up your creation below so that we can all see! Every entry is one chance at winning a $25 gift code to the Power Poppy Shop! Woot Woot!

So, get those fingers inky so we can see what you've got! Until next time!

~Julie 
Creative Confetti Thrower

Saturday

Welcome to the Daily Marker Blog Hop


Hello there, sweet friends, and welcome to your garden-drenched stop on today’s wonderful blog hop!

We are celebrating the Daily Marker’s 10th 30 Day Coloring Challenge, and I am so very happy to be a part of it. Kathy Racoosin is one of the dearest people I know, so giving, sharing, encouraging, talented, and genuinely GOOD. She came up with the idea for this coloring challenge to get us to spend a bit more time doing the thing we all love. Being a huge proponent of taking time for oneself and enjoying the things we love (I call it “Vitamin ME”), I love when Kathy’s challenges come ’round and I too take time to color as much as I can. Why, I’ve been doing just that...


Sitting on the front porch of my home in St. Louis, I’ve been working with a big bouquet of spring flowers from a stamp set that Power Poppy offers in both clear and digital (the clear version is Burst of Kindness, the digital is Spring Meadow Bouquet). I stamped it in a celery green pigment ink (I prefer it to the dye kind for some reason), onto watercolor paper, just in case I decide to add a washy background. But I am indulging in my new 150-color Prismacolor pencil set that I snagged on Amazon and going bananas with the range of shades — I feel like I could swim in them!

That is Tibbs the Corgi peeking up at us. :)


This is still very much a work in progress, my friends. While working with colored pencils, I find that I will hold 4-5 in one hand while I draw with the other, then I might have one or two clenched between my teeth, and the rest in my lap. Not the most ergonomic set up, but it works for me!

Now, this Burst of Kindness bouquet features a number of interesting flowers — I am not one to gravitate towards the most common stuff. I mean, I like a daisy and all, but I really get my kicks drawing (and growing) unique and special plants. Case in point, this group of flowers includes old fashioned Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis), Checkered Lily (Fritillaria meleagris), Summer Snowflake (Leucojum aestivum), and Lilac (Syringa). 

Lilac 'President Lincoln', Summer Snowflake, Bleeding Heart, Checkered Lily, Lilac 'President Lincoln'
When coloring, painting, or drawing, I *always* have reference material handy, whether it’s a stack of gardening books, magazines, catalogs, or my iPad. You simply get a better idea of what you are doing when looking at pictures of actual flowers. You get cues as to what the color values should be, you get ideas as to where the highlights and shadows fall. And you don’t have to feel as though you need to reinvent the wheel as far as color choices, because nature already picked out some incredible ones!

In the case of this bouquet, I chose blue Lilacs, because I think they look cool with the pink Bleeding Hearts and purple-burgundy Checkered Lilies. But get this: Bleeding Hearts also come in white and red, and in various shades of pink, so you can stay true to the plant and still have leeway if you’re trying to do realistic coloring.

Checkered Lilies also come in a white form (Fritillaria meleagris 'Alba') which would be fun to tackle. And Lilacs are not just lilac. Blue, purple, pink, white, and even yellow varieties are out there, so you can really have some fun. In fact, here’s a card made by Katie Sims showing a diverse palette, and where she made the Checked Lilies orange — such an awesome idea.


Just Google the names of the plants, click on the “images” tab under search results, and the world is your color palette oyster.


A little close up of my Burst of Kindness process. I feel that my Checkered Lilies are getting a little dark, so I might have to go back in with white gouache paint to lighten them up! Still a newbie with the colored pencils, but having such a blast. I will update this post later in the day, as I'm going to keep on coloring after I hit “Publish”. 


*** SPECIAL SALE ***

Burst of Kindness clear - $12.99 - save $5
 Spring Meadow Bouquet digital - $2.99 - save $3

Grab these for yourself and show me whatcha got!
Sale price ends Saturday, June 9.


Post your images on Instagram (use hashtag #thedailymarker30day in your post) or share a link with me here in the comments. I always, always love to see your interpretations and coloring adventures.


AND NOW, let’s keep rolling with the blog hop, there is so much inspiration to see today...

Power Poppy >> you are here!


Thank you for coming by! I’m gonna get another cup of coffee and dive back in to my bouquet... enjoy this gorgeous day.


Friday

Ready for some good vibes???

Hello folks and happiest of Fridays to you all! It's that time when we dig into the web-o-sphere looking for good vibes only to dig in, and pull out tiny doses of inspiration to set you on your way to a creative weekend full of, well..... GOOD VIBES! It's time for the...



GOOD VIBE #1


This first vibe is more than a little personal for all of us here. Last Monday, our fearless leader --Marcella -- underwent a lumpectomy after having been diagnosed last fall with non-invasive breast cancer. Thank goodness the area was small and it was caught so early, the doctors refer to it as Stage 0. Praise the Lord! While she's resting comfortably and in amazing spirits -- as usual -- here's where her good vibes just hit my heart. In an Insta post she turned her situation into a message of love, urging all the ladies in her life to get a mammogram - telling us all how a 10-minute test can save lives by early prevention. Her hashtag for that post? #mammogramafternoon. If you want to send Marcy some love via the net, just shoot her an email at bloom@powerpoppy.com. I know she'd love the warm fuzzies and healing vibes! We love you Marcy!

GOOD VIBE #2


Poinsettias don’t stop blooming on December 26th, and this lovely “Joyful Winter Wishes” card is far too amazing not to share! I completely adore how Power Poppy fan Brenda Noelke made this image into a gorgeous way to celebrate winter. Just take a step back and breathe in this beauty. Man, that is some amazing shading -- the way those petals pop? A color palette that's carried through beautifully. Seriously jaw dropping. Seriously.

GOOD VIBE #3


I'm not sure if you follow the follies of Elizabeth Zaffarano (she goes by @saffronkingfisher on IG) but I know I do. Just recently, she went someplace sunny and tropical and I was entranced by her photos of palm trees swaying in the warm breeze. While she was gone, she did pack some of her favorites to color and this little illustration above became one of her triumphs. I say triumphs because she said she didn't pack many markers and so she dreamt up this beautiful bouquet of blossoms in shades of gray with a pop of color. You need to click HERE to see a mini video of this work in progress. The results. Are. Stunning! Don't you think? Maybe we should ALL go on a "marker diet" and see how it all turns out? Are you with me?

GOOD VIBE #4


Squeeeeeeeee! Can you believe that crazy wonderful colorista is ready to challenge us all again to stop our day -- just for a few minutes -- to color? She knows that our blood pressure decreases when we pick up our markers. She knows it's good for our creative souls! Love that Kathy Racoosin from the dailymarker.com. And, as you can see from her graphic above, you have three days to grab your supplies, print a few digis, and get ready to COLOR! That, my friends, is indeed a good vibe! AND GUESS WHAT.... you just might see a BRAND NEW Power Poppy image colored up by Kathy on Day One.

GOOD VIBE #5


A little birdie told me that the ever-so-talented Amy Shulke of Vanilla Arts is sharpening her Prismas and reaching for her Copics to get ready to teach a class soon using Power Poppy's Layer Cake digital stamp set! The details are still in the works so, if you want to be the first to know so YOU can sign up for this online class, stay tuned to Amy's Patreon site HERE, where she offers video lessons designed to unleash all of that talent that's inside of you! ;-)

Speaking of talent... you know those ab fab Bloomies, right? Well, they are ready to show off just some of what they've been working on in their crafting spaces this week!


So make sure you stop by and say "hi" to these fine ladies below!





Thanks for checking in and stopping by! Don't forget, we have our Power & Spark Grab a Map Challenge ongoing! Check out the deets HERE-- you could win a $50 Shopping Spree, just for playing along!

Be sure to swing back by Monday when we have another super duper creative way to kick off your week with our Inspire Me Monday!

Have a good weekend!
~Julie

Sunday

Daily Marker Coloring Challenge, Blog Hop, and GIVEAWAY!


Hello, hello my dear friends! I’m a bit late in joining along in Day 2 of the Daily Marker’s NEW 30-Day Coloring Challenge... so let’s just call this: Day 2/3. :) I want to join the chorus of voices encouraging EVERYONE to try to make time to color this month, even if for just a few minutes. That dearest of dearhearts, Kathy Racoosin of The Daily Marker started this marvelously uplifting event, which has no structure, rules, or fuss — the only point is to give yourself the gift of time to do this thing that you so enjoy.



I have to say, spending a few hours coloring in the garden this morning is surely just what the doctor ordered for us, as we await news on our little puppy Tibbs, who had to spend the night at the animal hospital yesterday. It seems he swallowed something he wasn't supposed to — at least that’s what they are examining as I type this. Last night we got to spend a bit of time with the pup, and he was definitely feeling cheerier after some fluids and antibiotics. We knew when he wanted to chomp on our cheeks that our little puppy was making a turn-around.


So, my coloring queens, let’s get to the fun ....we debuted a new digital stamp set called Merriest Berries that was drawn expressly with Kathy in mind, as she LOVES a good cluster of holly. I upped the ante a little bit, adding mistletoe to the holly, and I sure hope you got to see what Kathy came up with for the beautiful KICK-OFF post for the 30-Day Coloring Challenge... here’s a peek!



Isn’t that OVER THE TOP AWESOME??!! Look at how Kathy treated the bow with those wonderful stripes, enhanced the white stitching with incredible shading and allowed those Merriest Berries to bubble over with holiday fun. I was so tickled to see what Kathy made with this set — THANK YOU SWEET KATHY! I’m doubly stoked to see what YOU will do with it, hopefully inspired by all of the coloring challenge beauty that will surround us all month long. See below for how you might win this set, along with a gift code to shop at Power Poppy!

I was hoping to be able to join in on the blog hop yesterday with so many other fabulously NEAT companies, but I got sidetracked with things around here, and just this morning spent some beautiful time in the garden painting this new image...


The digital version of Merriest Berries comes with three different options for the cluster of berries and ribbon. Kathy Racoosin chose the “bow” version for her creation, and I decided to go with the “candy cane”. There is one more version with just dovetailed ribbons, as well as a sentiment with “Merriest Wishes”!

I’m still not quite ready for traditional Christmas colors, so I decided to color my berries and ribbons in  a palette inspired by my garden Zinnias! Pink and Orange do not fail you, my friends!! They offer such a zingy, zesty happiness, and that is definitely something I wanted to bring into my world today. So... 


I printed my image at 35% opacity so that the outlines were very light. But then I went back in with my gouache paint and spent lots of time darkening and gradually deepening the shadows to really help those berries and leaves pop.


Here’s a detail of the berries, you can see how each holly berry is multiple shades of yellow, orange, pink, and red, and the white area is a spot that I did not paint at all, but left blank. If you do not trust yourself to leave an area blank while you're painting, a trick I learned back in art school was to dab rubber cement with a fine brush in the areas you want left white (essentially, masking them off). Finish your shading with watercolors and gouache, and then roll off the rubber cement — it works like a charm — if you can still find rubber cement. hehehe — do they even still make it?)

Anyway, painting this lively cluster really lifted my spirits. I decided to give it a handpainted gingham background in citrus yellow, and handlettered a sentiment to send my Merriest Wishes to all of YOU today!


If you encounter a broken link, please refer to the full list to get you to the next blog.
Mama Elephant (Road Trip 9.9)
Stamping Bella (Road Trip 9.23&24)
Gina K Designs (Road Trip 10.6&7)
Waffle Flower (Road Trip 11.1)
Jenn Shurkus (Road Trip 11.11&12)
Neat & Tangled  (Road Trip 11.18) 
Concord & 9th (Road Trip TBA)
Power Poppy (Road Trip March, 2018) YOU ARE HERE!
Lawn Fawn (Road Trip TBA) 
WPlus9 (Road Trip TBA) 
Debby Hughes (Road Trip completed) 
Jennifer McGuire (My favorite OnLine Card Class is OCC partner)
Kristina Werner (My favorite OnLine Card Class is OCC partner)
Heather Ruwe (My favorite OnLine Card Class is OCC partner)

POWER POPPY GIVEAWAY

I’m giving away the Merriest Berries Digital Stamp Set — PLUS a $30 shopping code to Power Poppy! Please leave a comment below by Sunday, September 10, at midnight, and I will pick a winner and announce it here on my blog on Monday, September 11th. The full list of ALL winners from the individual blogs will be announced HERE at the Daily Marker on Tuesday, September 12th. (check each blog for the specifics of their giveaway).

Thank you so much for coming by today, and pardon for the delay in my post. Enjoy your Labor Day weekend, and I so hope you’ll take time to color in the challenge. All you have to do is color, but if you want to REALLY have fun, you’ll want to share your card on social media and hashtag: #thedailymarker30day



Friday

Good Vibe 5: A Mish Mash of Inspiration



Hello peeps and welcome to a smorgasbord of ideas designed to give you a la carte bits of inspiration! We call it Good Vibe 5. We hope you agree that it is nothing but positive beams of creativity designed to bring out the best in life and in your crafting spaces!

GOOD VIBE 1

You've heard of Pop Art. What about Pupp Art? Just look at the way Jane Crisci captured our very own Power Puppy Mr. Tibbs!!!! Can you even stand how cute this is? Jane mentioned using digital images to create this "scene" with Power Poppy's Easy Breezy Coneflowers in the forefront, but can you believe how awesome her rendition of Tibbs is, drawn from a photo in THIS Hues to Use challenge. Aall of us here at Power Poppy are completely taken by her creativity and talent! And Jane -- just a note -- Mr. Tibbs applauds your artistry. It reminded him of THIS MORNING when he nibbled on some of his master's precious zinnias for breakfast.

GOOD VIBE 2


When Elizabeth gets to creating and then dares to give us little sneaky peeks, you kind of feel like saying, "Dang it, Elizabeth, why do you tease us like that???" ;-) Check out her latest masterpiece in the making where she digitally mastered Power Poppy's newest member of the Instant Garden, Cherries and Berries. Okay, now that we are all on the edge of our seat, I honestly can't wait to see the colored up version.  And, if you've not given digis a try, take this tutorial for a test drive. You're almost guaranteed an instant dose of gratification when you download, color and enjoy within minutes!

GOOD VIBE 3



If you've been hanging with me on Tuesdays for Hues to Use, you know that I am just not ready for fall to color our world in shades of russet, amber, and plum. I adore this season, don't get me wrong. I truly love this season. I just am not ready to say goodbye to summer. That's why when I spotted this photo above of the lovely Bloomie Christine, I just had to celebrate her living life in full bloom! Even her tootsies are colored up in a summery shade! Christine, I so wish I could have joined you!

GOOD VIBE 4

Do you ever have those days when you stamp out an image and have no idea what colors to reach for in order to bring that illustration to life? I was thumbing through the Power Poppy tutorial archives and stumbled upon this old tutorial from color whiz Ally Cope. Not only does she have a handful of samples showcasing how to mix and match colors, she prepped a video on color theory for sure-fire ways to pair different hues for stunning and visually appealing results! Grab a cuppa your favorite beverage and sidle up to the computer to give this a watch before you kick off your creative weekend.

GOOD VIBE 5


Speaking of color, have we got some exciting news for you here in the Good Vibe 5! Mark your calendar people! Kathy Racoosin is just days away from kicking off another 30-Day Coloring Challenge! Yes, you heard it here! That's not all!!! A little birdie told me that when Kathy kicks off this challenge, she'll also be sneak peeking one of Power Poppy's newest images! Squeee! Like I said.. Mark your calendars! It's going to be a fun thirty-day ride!

We hope you got did indeed get a jolt of good vibes with us today! You've got a smile from Mr. Tibbs, a sneaky peek with Elizabeth, a dose of summer with Christine, a kaleidoscope of color with Ally and an invitation from Kathy! How much fun is all of that?



Now you get to have some more fun when you hop on over to see these fine ladies....




Well, that does it for us here on the Power Poppy blog! Be sure to "tune in" Monday when Jessie Banks takes center stage with her tips and tricks for the next Inspire me Monday!

See you back here then!
~Julie


Thursday

The Daily Marker Coloring Challenge and GIVEAWAY

Hello all and welcome to a fanciful and fun-filled post here on the Power Poppy Blog! Our dear friend Kathy Racoosin over at The Daily Marker is unleashing a whole range of color on her blog and Instagram this month, and she wants all of us to join her in the fun! 

Did you know that coloring can lower your blood pressure? Did you know it can make you feel happy and relaxed? 

With that in mind, have you ever joined in on...


HERE’S HOW IT WORKS: The premise of “The Daily Marker 30 Day Coloring Challenge” is to color something every day — even if it’s just for five minutes. Can’t color every day? No worries! Jump in or out as time permits! And, it doesn't matter if you love markers or prefer paints, any coloring medium is welcomed! Click CLICK HERE to find out where to share what you are coloring and join the encouraging community of happy colorists. You’ll also find answers to questions you may have along the way, participate in contests and more! If you share your work on social media, don't forget the hashtag #TheDailyMarker30Day and if you use OUR stamps, pop in the hashtag #powerpoppy


ON TO TODAY’S VERY SPECIAL BLOG HOP...

Hostess-in-Chief Kathy Racoosin from The Daily Marker assembled a whole crew to give your creativity a jump start with some of her favorite stamp companies & Online Card Class partners. To start at the beginning of the hop go to The Daily Marker. If you are coming from the blog of WINNIE & WALTER you are in the right place. Kathy has the full list if you encounter a broken link.

NOW TO OUR BIT OF POWER POPPY SHOW AND TELL!
To get ready for the big day, not only did Ms. Marcella pull out her watercolors and extra special brushes, she's giving you all a sneaky peek of a brand new digital stamp set that will soon be added to the Power Poppy Instant Garden (a.k.a. our digital stamp collection!). Take a deep breath and soak it all in will you? And then, join us Sunday, March 5th when this beauty below is released! 


AND HERE'S SOME EXTRA FUN NEWS! 

As a part of this sensational hop, Power Poppy Peep in Chief Marcella Hawley has a surprise of epic proportions! She is going to give away -- wait for it -- OUR ENTIRE SOON-TO-BE-UNVEILED MARCH CLEAR STAMP SET RELEASE! What does that mean? It means 8 of the freshest, most fun Power Poppy designs to hit the market! It’s a $144 value people!! PLUS - if you tag a friend, you could BOTH win the whole bundle!!!


LOTS OF WAYS TO ENTER
Try them all to increase your chances:
  • Power Poppy Blog: Leave a comment on today’s post, and include the name of a friend who would love to win, too. Be sure you are signed up for the Power Poppy newsletter.
  • Instagram: Follow Marcella on Instagram @marcellahawley, leave a comment on the Giveaway post. Tag a friend in your post, and they will also be entered to win the entire release.
  • Facebook: Follow Power Poppy by Marcella Hawley, leave a comment on the Giveaway post. Tag a friend in your post, and they will also be entered to win the entire release.
Entries will be accepted until Midnight CST, March 11.
The winner will be announced here on Sunday, March 12th and also on thedailymarker.com


GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

THERE'S ALSO A SUPER SPECIAL DEAL THIS ENTIRE MONTH AS WELL! 

Power Poppy is offering 25% off all digital stamps for folks all month long to tie in with the Daily Marker's 30 Day Coloring Challenge! Just enter the code COLORMEHAPPY at checkout! This is good only on digis only to help you enjoy this beautifully colorful month!


It’s time to hit the next 30 Day Coloring Challenge Blog 
Hop Hot Spot...

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .


And don't forget on your travels to visit these fine ladies — our Bloomies —to see how they chose to help Kathy kick off her colorfest in style! Guess what? A little birdie told me that many of these ladies are using some of the never-seen-before stamps that will be released soon! Yippeeeeeee!


Thanks so much for stopping by! Some of the Bloomies will be back tomorrow to share even more colorific creations with you all! So, mark your calendar and be sure to swing back by! We loved having you!

~Julie